Agency Finalizes Emissions Monitoring Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week published a final rule revising the reporting requirements associated with continuous monitoring systems (CEMS).

The rule is designed to apply primarily to power plants, which are required to measure and report CEMS-gathered emissions for compliance with the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), the Clean Air Mercury Rule, the acid rain program, and the so-called NOx SIP Call. (The NOx SIP Call was designed to mitigate significant transport of NOx, one of the precursors of ozone, according to the EPA.)

Cement plants that use CEMS for compliance purposes, however, would also be required to revise their reporting under the rule. This might include facilities that to use CEMS to demonstrate compliance with permit provisions or the NOx SIP Call and those kilns opting into the trading program under CAIR or otherwise engaged in emission trading.

Contact Tom Carter.

Administration Sends Different Signals on Climate Change

White House Council for Environmental Quality Chairman Jim Connaughton, told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee the Bush Administration opposes mandatory restrictions on greenhouse gases(GHG).  This includes initiatives such as the cap-and-trade program that would be instituted by legislation currently making its way through the Senate.

The same day, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Steve Johnson told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee the EPA will comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA by proposing a regulation to limit GHG emissions from vehicles. 

While these two positions are not mutually exclusive, they do illustrate the uncertainty within the Administration as to how to address climate change.  Despite Chairman Connaughton’s statement, most experts predict the President will sign a GHG cap-and-trade bill in the event both houses of Congress pass such legislation.

Contact Tom Carter.

Congress Seeks Permanent Homeland Security Regulations for Chemical Plants

The U.S. House Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee approved draft legislation designed to establish permanent security regulations for chemical plants.

The bill was approved by the House subcommittee Wednesday and would make the Federal Register interim and final rule announcements on chemical facility security issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last April and November permanent.  Without new legislation, those rules are set to expire in October 2009.

House members have debated details of the bill, including establishing qualifications for the eventual DHS Office of Chemical Security department head (amendment accepted) and requiring background checks to prevent potential terrorists from working at chemical plants (amendment rejected).

Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) plans to introduce the bill sometime within the upcoming weeks.

Contact Tyrone P. Wilson.

Technology to Improve Toxic Release Inventory Reporting

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to further expand Internet access to Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting forms, currently available in 14 states.  The purpose is to make data collection more efficient and use of the data more meaningful.

The TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities reported annually by certain covered industry groups as well as federal facilities. This inventory was established under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) and expanded by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990.

The agency is holding its annual TRI meeting February 12-14 in Arlington, Va., and plans to open the conference to community organizations. Click here to view information about the conference.

Contact Tyrone P. Wilson.

President, House Leadership Agree on Economic Fix

President Bush, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), and U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) reached an agreement on a package to stimulate the slowing American economy.

The package, totaling over $100 billion, would issue rebate checks to middle-class Americans, provide tax relief to small businesses, create more jobs, and raise the home loan limits for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-conforming loans.

Taxpayers could be issued rebate checks ranging from up to $600 for an individual and up to $1,200 for a married couple, plus $300 per child, with no limit on the number of children. The rebates would be phased-out for those with incomes above $75,000 for a single taxpayer and $150,000 for joint-filing married couples.

Tax relief for small businesses would come in the form of a “50 percent bonus deduction on new equipment in the year it is placed in service, with certain exceptions for equipment with a ‘long life.’ This temporary tax cut offers significant savings on new property with a depreciation period of 20 years or less.” The tax cut aims to increase small business investment and create more jobs for Americans in need of work.

Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-conforming loan limits would increase from $362,000 to $725,000 and from $417,000 to $625,000.

The proposed economic stimulus package is thought to catch some pushback from the Senate. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have announced their intent to mark-up a separate stimulus bill next week with provisions included for food stamps, unemployment insurance, and extending rebate checks to all Americans, not just taxpayers.

In addition, earlier this week Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) expressed in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) a need for including in the package a provision for increased infrastructure spending.

Contact Robert Sullivan.

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